MAINEVILLE, OHIO — The Islamic Center of Maineville, a new mosque under construction on a 6.7‑acre site in Warren County, has drawn attention after a Fox News Digital investigation revealed that it has received substantial donations from a number of Uzbek‑owned trucking firms that have been repeatedly cited for serious safety and compliance violations.
Donations from companies with poor safety records
Telegram posts from the mosque’s channel show that Buraq Limited, owned by Rukhshona Sultonova, contributed at least $28,000 in 28 separate gifts. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) records list dozens of violations for Buraq, including English‑proficiency failures, electronic logging device (ELD) violations, invalid commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), expired medical cards and hours‑of‑service infractions.
Premier Trucking Group Inc., owned by Sam Avazov, has amassed more than 100 violations, among them unsafe‑driving citations and invalid CDLs. The mosque posted a screenshot of a $1,000 donation from Premier, and the company has given at least $25,000 in total.
Foko Logistics LLC, operated by Abubakr Olimov in Hilliard, donated $20,000 in a single gift. FMCSA data show 52 violations across 37 inspections, including brake‑system problems, an inoperable tractor‑protection valve and severely under‑inflated tires. Ten of its 24 vehicle inspections resulted in out‑of‑service designations, a 41.7% rate.
Maca Transportation and Services LLC, based in Dayton and owned by Muminkhuja Kholkhujaev, contributed at least $7,000. The company’s record includes 120 violations across 72 inspections, with repeated English‑proficiency failures and falsified hours‑of‑service logs.
Large‑scale fundraising effort
According to the investigation, Phoenix Cargo donated $150,000 and helped organize the overall fundraising drive. The company, which has been cited hundreds of times for English‑proficiency, ELD tampering and unsafe‑driving violations, says the amount represents only a fraction of the mosque’s construction budget and that it is not among the top 100 donors.
Links to Uzbek officials
Telegram screenshots also show the mosque’s channel sharing messages from individuals identified as former or current Uzbek government officials, including Erkinbay Abdulla and Sukhrob Norbekov. The Hamkor Uz Cincinnati Association, a nonprofit that owns the property where the mosque is being built, lists former Uzbek officials as administrators of its own Telegram channel.
Photos posted by the channel depict a six‑member Uzbek delegation that visited the United States in April 2025, featuring Ambassador Furqat Sidiqov and officials from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies. The delegation promoted an IT conference in Loveland, Ohio, aimed at local truck‑company managers and entrepreneurs.
Community reaction
Local online researcher “Nodawolf,” who has been documenting alleged trucking fraud in southwest Ohio, expressed concern that the pattern of violations among donor companies suggests systematic non‑compliance with U.S. regulations. “Given the documented safety and compliance problems in many of these companies, it’s reasonable to ask whether gaps in U.S. regulations are being systematically exploited,” he said.
The mosque’s website states it does not solicit donations from foreign governments or agents, and that any such attempts should be reported. The Islamic Center has not responded to requests for comment regarding the donations or the Telegram postings.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
